Mr. Lynch informed the crowd that there is an unusually high number of excavation-related accidents and building failures as a result of insufficient planning and improper or non-existent excavation support. He pointed out that emergencies resulting from improper practice are a near daily occurrence in New York City, and that the Department of Buildings (DOB) often must take on the role of emergency construction manager to stabilize excavations or adjacent buildings at the taxpayers' expense.

In his presentation, Mr. Lynch reviewed a range of recent cases which represent commonly occurring problems associated with work around some of the more common types of structures found around New York City. With these case histories, he explained how improper excavation support and underpinning of adjacent structures typically found around the city often leads to injury and property damage, and sometimes the loss of life.

There are currently approximately 4,500 open construction sites in New York City. The bulk of these sites are located in Brooklyn and Queens and only a few hundred are in Manhattan. Last year the DOB was able to visit approximately 50 percent of these sites, and issued stop work orders to nearly 50 percent of the sites to which it visited.

The Department of Buildings is taking measures to curb this increase in construction-related accidents, through community outreach and education, as well as through enforcing existing regulations, and reporting and censuring professionals, who are repeatedly involved with unsafe construction practices. He also noted that the city is criminally prosecuting contractors who through negligence cause the death of their employees.

Mr. Lynch also reviewed DOB requirements for excavation which includes a review of plans, identification and evaluation of neighboring foundations, and a detailed review of design sections. The list also takes into account plot plans of existing conditions including building and foundation types, plans, sections, and elevations with details of all underpinning pits and bracing.

He stressed that physical and desktop research are essential to this process and that the professionals who are preparing these plans must be involved in the construction and inspection process.

At the conclusion of his presentation, Mr. Lynch showed the group the Oasis Maps website which he finds to be very helpful in the research of existing adjacent properties. The website can instantly provide the addresses of adjacent buildings, as well as a link to the DOB where among other things, the building's landmark status and certificate of occupancy can be found. You can also view any open permits, complaints, and violations which may exist for these properties which can help to evaluate risk during construction.

Following a number of questions from the audience, Mr. Lynch was presented a Golden Apple from Geotechnical Group Chairman Paul Pizzimenti in appreciation for the lecture.

Report prepared by Lucian Spiteri, photo by Robert Talby